Is there a cure for this sickness, got to have more stuff?

[cudaken]

 What is it with my self and other people here that makes us want more train stuff? I have seen roster posted here that have around 50 to 100 + engines a lone. My self and doing this less than a year. My list so far.

 

 Engines

Proto 2000

E-6 A                2

E-6 B                1

BL-2                 4

 

Proto 1000

Erie Built A      1

Erie Built B      1

 

Athearn Engines

F 7-A                1

F 7- B               1

FP-45's             5 one used for parts

C 44 Dash 8      1 Started as an Athearn we think

GE-C                2

SD-45               1

 

Bachman Spectrum

GE  8-40C        1

 

Bachman Plus

GS-4 Daylight.  1 Steam

GS-4 War Baby 1 Steam

 

Broadway Limited

Class J 4-8-4 # 611       (Big Bucks and DCC)

J1E Hudson 4-8-4         (Big Bucks and DCC)

Tyco

2-8-0 Steam      1 Broken

 

AMH

FP-45                1 Run's great but low pulling power

 

Life Like

GP-30                3

F7-A                  3

MISC                2

 

Dummies          4

 

Total                  38 + 6 for tenders 44

 

Coal Car's        12 

 

Tank Cars

64 Footers         5 

45 Footers         7 One need's repair went Air Born

 

Gondola

50 Footers         9

40 Footers         9

 

Cover Hoppers

 

Old Dutch         25 on the board

65 Footers         3

 

Box Cars Counts INC REFFERS Cattle cars ETC

40 Footers         33

50 Footers         35

 

Crane                 1

Work Car           1

Light Car           1

 

Flat Cars            2

 

Car Total          143

 

Cabooses           15

 

Passengers         9

 

 Grand Total      211 give or take some. Count's oil tenders.     

 That does not count the F-2 PK's with sound or the HO BROADWAY LIMITED 004 PRR M1a 4-8-2 DCC & SOUND #6743 I just bought.

 I have to step back now and wonder why I am doing this. Half the engines and rollin stock is sitting wating to be used if ever again.

 Is it the quest because we want the biggest and best?

 Is it because we are not happy with are 1:1 life?

 Is it the trill of E-bay?

 I need another BLI like I need a hole in the head. But yet there is a nother one coming?

 One thing, MR Gibson should not think ill of my taste in engines now.

 

                    Buying again Cuda Ken 

[simon1966]

Ken, the best thing I did was to set some limits.

Define the location and the date.  At least for the purposes of purchasing new equipment.  1961 was the year.  Anything that dates from after that is off limits.  The Q and Wabash are the roads (plus a little CNW) any other loco is off limits.  When the frieght car roster can fill the entire layout with no space to run a train, stop!!

[hmmwvnut]

Well Ken, your not the only one!!!!   LOL

I too have the Obsessive Compulsive Disorder to collect trains!!  LOL

My collection of loco's alone is over 350!  Not to mention about 18 complete sets of passenger cars, and God only knows how many freight cars.  However!  The coolest thing is to be able to walk into any club and get raised eyebrows of what I have!  I have two Trix Big Boys, 1 Precision Craft Big Boy, about 6 Rivarossi Big Boys, 2 BLI Cab Forwards, 12 Proto 2000 Mallets, 5 Athearn Challengers, 2 Alleghenys, 2 Class A N&W's just to name my large steam locos!

But I also have 2 Brawa Talent V, Trix AVE, Mehano Blue Tiger, Tenshodo Shinkansen, Hornby Eurostar, Roco S3/6 in blue, and Bachman DMUs....just to name a few really cool sets!

So, all I can say is just enjoy what you have, keep collecting, and who the hell cares what people think if they say you have too much!

[tstage]

Ken,

Simon has given you a fire sure way of stemming your buying habits.  My era is early 40s - New York Central - Freight depot and fueling facility.  That pretty much limits my roster to early diesels (S1s, VO-660s, and FTs) and freight steamers (0-6-0s, 0-8-0s, 2-8-2s, and 4-8-2s). 

Mohawks (4-8-2s) are pretty much only available in brass and probably a little too long to comfortably navigate my 4 x 8.  I already have diesel switchers (a S1 and VO-660) so I really don't need (nor have room for) a 0-6-0 or 0-8-0.  My yard is also full of rolling stock.  And I don't buy any cars that have BLT dates or NEW dates younger than 1944.  It works for me...

Tom 

[RedGrey62]

I have to echo Simon's advise as well.  While my era is a bit more ambiguous (the 60's), I have limited my purchases to CB&Q, mainly Lines West around the Omaha, NE area.  The cars I buy are mainly roads that directly interchanged with the Q and I am trying to get a prototypical as possible without crossing that invisible line (rivet counter!).  Mainly because my modelling skills are average and my willingness to cut into a 60 dollar passenger car to make it just a little more correct is just not there.

Rick

[selector]

The growing numbers of MRR items you have is a symptom of enjoying the rush from spending money.  It makes you feel more powerful, more fulfilled, more in control.  In other words, it is your personality that is generating this impulse.  Unfortunately, it won't go away with any ease and must come from within.  Some strategies may sound promising, like the one about limiting your era, and I warrant that it may work to some extent.  Unfortunately, by limiting your horizons, you will simply turn more stones looking for the nice-to-haves in a narrower pasture.  You will turn to brass and get a new rush from that pursuit.  You will begin to find other manufacturers who are not always for sale on ebay.  In other words, your strategy will change to help you to keep getting the rush.

Sorry, Bud, but you will need some form of intervention ($$$) in order to get over this need for pleasure.

[DaveInTheHat]

You have OCTSD. Obsesive Compulisve Train Stuff Disorder. I found the only cure is unemployment.

[CAZEPHYR]

 

There is no real cure for adding to the locomotive collection if you like trains.

     

You should set a limit if you want to avoid renting a storage area for the overflow.  

 

[lvanhen]

Ok, I've got 110+ locos, and God only knows how many freight & passenger cars, but my collection started aver 40 years ago!  I hate to throw or give anything away!!  The grandson has now started to build a few kits - it's amazing some of the I bought years ago, how about a Tyco UP stock car in a yellow that almost glows in the dark!!  Or Ambroid or Varney kits!!  The big problem is that untill I retire comepletely and move, I'm stuck with a 4x8!!  Talk about stop buying when they cover the tracks - the stuff would cover several 4x8 tables without track!!  Guess I "got the bug" too!

[Medina1128]

Oh, I have the disorder, alright, but I also have the cure: my wife. She once asked me, "how many locomotives do you need?" This was after her purchase of another diamond ring. She hasn't asked that since. I found that setting limits (budget) on what I can spend during the year helps, and STICK TO IT!! Remember, you're not the government, that can magically make money appear, only to be begging for more (in tax hikes, bond sales)... hmmm.. maybe I'm onto something.

[cnw400]

Some suggestions-

As already stated, limit the era, the roadnames, and the locale that you model.

Improve your trackwork.

Get into scenery making, super detailing, or structures.

Hand lay your track.

Finish something that is functional, but not quite done.

Explore operation.

Study the history of your era, roadname, and locale.

Lighting, animation, and effects.

Build stuff, learn stuff, operate stuff, don't just buy stuff!

 

If satisfaction derives from getting more stuff, then you are stuck in the buying mode. 

[alfadawg01]

You have OCTSD. Obsesive Compulisve Train Stuff Disorder. I found the only cure is unemployment.

This is identical to an epidemic found among musicians:  Gear Acquisition Syndrom or "GAS".  Same symptoms and manifestation as OCTSD only more expensive and space consuming.  Don't ask me how I know this......

[GAPPLEG]

Got it too Ken,  my problem is I want one (at least one) of every Diesel Loco the SP ever had. That is a real challenge, it doesn't have to be the most expensive or most beautiful, just got to be an SP. It seems like they bought one of everything (not really) it just seems that way.

[Anonymous]

This is far too few trains BUY BUY BUY

 

Why fight it accumulate!

[Attaboy]

No one has mentioned the real issue here.  Why would you want a cure?

[Texas Zepher]

What is it with my self and other people here that makes us want more train stuff?  ... I have to step back now and wonder why I am doing this. Half the engines and rollin stock is sitting wating to be used if ever again.

Help, help, just the line of items waiting for my paint shop is as long as your list.  I don't believe this forum could contain a listing of everything (especially double spaced like yours - why do you do that anyway?).

I have seen roster posted here that have around 50 to 100 + engines a lone.

Rank Amateurs.

Is it the quest because we want the biggest and best?

No

Is it because we are not happy with are 1:1 life?

No

Is it the trill of E-bay?

Absolutely not.

No one has mentioned the real issue here.  Why would you want a cure?

Ummm, well items I've owned for 20 years but they haven't been out of the box for me to enjoy.  I've got only storage space, space to play with them.

You should set a limit if you want to avoid renting a storage area for the overflow.

I'm already past that point.  10x15 storage unit with a monthly fee!  Sort of defeats the "good deals" I got on some of that equipment.  Grumble, grumble, and every time I go to sell I end up buying more than I sell.

If anyone can figure out the cure, I'll take two please.

Some suggestions-

• As already stated, limit the era, the roadnames, and the locale that you model.
• Improve your trackwork.
• Get into scenery making, super detailing, or structures.
• Hand lay your track.
• Finish something that is functional, but not quite done.
• Explore operation.
• Study the history of your era, roadname, and locale.
• Lighting, animation, and effects.

Some good suggestions, but many of those things INCREASE the desire for more/different items.  My RR research library is part of the problem.  It is only exceeded by my computer library. Every book read/studied creates a new vision of something to be modeled. Every place visited becomes a new "scene" that would make a really neat model.  I belong to 4 different operational groups, each with unique operational rules.  This only increases desire to encorporate the best of each of those into ones own.

[BigRusty]

As I see it, it is more like being a coin or stamp collector. One does not willy nilly buy stamps or coins because there are thousands of varities. They mostly fill out an album of the era or type they like to collect.

I started my collection based on an "album" of my life railroad experiences. At various times, I lived along the New Haven in NY/CT, the Pennsy and Reading in PA, and the UP-SP in Bakersfield, CA. I wanted to build a roster that reflected those times and brought back those memories. Hence EP-3 Box cabs and I-5s, GG-1s, MP-54s, T-1s and even cabforwards and big boys. Why, because I saw all of them in operation as a resident of those areas.

Planning a true to prototype model railroad that covers that gamut is really not practical, although I could have run the Pennsy through the Hudson River tunnel to connect with the New Haven at Penn Station, but I thought better of it.

What I have now is a PLAN, not random buying of anything. I am filling out the roster that the New Haven operated in the transition era based on the consist charts of those days. Rolling stock is acquired based on the actual consist of the trains that I will be operating with the appropriate motive power for same.

Consequently, I now only need a few more EP-2s, some EF-1s, an L-1 and maybe a Mogul or two for the Canal Line. T t that's all folks. I have all of the RS 1, 2, & 3s, HH-16, S-1s and 0-8-0s for switching I need. I have lots of PA/PA, FA/FB/FB/FA, DL-109 A/A, and FB A/A C-Liners freight and passenger diesel lashups and I-4 and I-5 steamers to pull any train in the consist as well as EP-2s, EP-3s and EP-4 electrics and MU cars.

That's it. I'M DONE! I don't care what else they bring out. I have the L-1 on order and 2 more I-5's coming but that's it. My album pages will be full.

 I can now concentrate on acquiring more rolling stock. I need the Federal Pennsy consist and the NH Merchant's and Yankee Clipper in both the HW and SS consists and then can concentrate on track work, scenery and buildings.

My PRR, Reading and SP-Up items will all go on e-Bay to finance the rest of my acquisitions.

 

[fwright]

You have OCTSD. Obsesive Compulisve Train Stuff Disorder. I found the only cure is unemployment.

Divorce is also a cure - just a much nastier tasting one.

[jbinkley60]

You have OCTSD. Obsesive Compulisve Train Stuff Disorder. I found the only cure is unemployment.

You may be on to something here but what I heard was that he hasn't admitted he has a disorder, he is only questioning whether he might have one.   Unemployment may only put it in remission and not be a long term cure.  I am in denial so I'll keep buying.  I view it as a publuc service to keep the LHS and model railroad industry afloat.  I suppose when I can't walk into the basement any longer due to rolling stock boxes, I may have to admit to having OCTSD.

 

[IRONROOSTER]

Buy a bigger house. That'll keep you too broke to buy trains for a while.

Enjoy

Paul 

[selector]

 

Consequently, I now only need a few more...

Please do not take offence, but as a social scientist, this statement speaks volumes to me.  Specifically, your use of the word "need" indicates a deprivation that would have a significant impact on your life if it is not assuaged.  This word, and the rationale behind its use, is what this thread is all about.  For something as unimportant as a hobby must be, in terms of life's more salient problems, using this word gives us permission to spend/acquire as if it were indeed a requirement. 

Hobbies generate intense pleasures for us, and feeling acquisitive is part of the process of discovery.  We acquire information willy nilly, but we also spend to get artifacts and models to shore up our experience.  I am not saying it is necessarily bad, because every one of we humans does this to a degree or another.  In Ken's case, I would guess that he is close to $100k into his cars, and his train collection is fast catching up.

I am taking a more serious approach to what I clearly know is a non-serious thread, but there you are..

[Milwhiawatha]

Theres a cure like what happened to me one source of funding had stopped till things get done which wont be for awhile. I ha tons of projects. So my dad cut the funding on that and my business is slow so there went buying anything.

[SteamFreak]

I'm beginning to think we need to start a 12 step program -- Model Railroaders Anonymous?

One locomotive is too many, and 100 isn't enough...

[steamage]

This is great for model manufactures. Seems to be a lot of modelers afflicted with this sickness. Glad I don't live near a train hobby shop.

[Texas Zepher]

Consequently, I now only need a few more...

Please do not take offence, but as a social scientist, this statement speaks volumes to me.

Isn't that what Rockefeller said when they asked him how much money it would take to be satisfied?  As I recall his reply was, "Just a little more."   The human condition of always needing a bit more to be satisfied was part of the great experiment that King Solomon performed and recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes.   If it isn't model trains, then it is cars, horses, real estate, money, power, etc. 

[aloco]

Just one more locomotive... one more locomotive, and I promise not to buy any more model railroad equipment!  Just one more locomotive!

[Anonymous]

 Let us know when you hit a thousand. Than is time for rehab. Know just think do I need it or do i want it6. Works for me. Also budget. Allow yourself to spend a certain amount a month, a week or whatever. And if it is more than your budget than save a couple of your monthly allowances. Remember not ot bring your cards to a trainshow bad bad bad.

 

[selector]

Consequently, I now only need a few more...

Please do not take offence, but as a social scientist, this statement speaks volumes to me.

Isn't that what Rockefeller said when they asked him how much money it would take to be satisfied?  As I recall his reply was, "Just a little more."   The human condition of always needing a bit more to be satisfied was part of the great experiment that King Solomon performed and recorded in the book of Ecclesiastes.   If it isn't model trains, then it is cars, horses, real estate, money, power, etc. 

Well, that Rockefeller guy sure knew what he wanted.  I wouldn't mind a PRR T1...this time.

[jbinkley60]

This is great for model manufactures. Seems to be a lot of modelers afflicted with this sickness. Glad I don't live near a train hobby shop.

At my LHS there is a sign on the counter which say " Your wife just called and said it was Ok"

 

[johncolley]

I humbly apologise up front for this....but when talking about trains....it's Terminal! Oooohhh...Baaaaddddd. As already stated the best way to contrtol it is to set a railroad and a particular era and limit yourself through budgeted buying only that equipment and structures, etc. that fit your scheme. Even then it is easy to go overboard, eh? jc5729